The graphic below (click read on to view) shows the level of child poverty and joblessness in the areas which saw the most rioting in England from the sixth to the tenth of August, according to the Guardian’s record of incidents, with the exception of Witney and Westminster which are included for contrast. (Westminster’s constituency does include some poorer areas as well as the City of London).
Children are legally defined as living in poverty if their household’s income is 60 percent below the national average (the median, to be precise). The percentage of children living in these households comes from an End Child Poverty report, and apply to the parliamentary constituencies shown next to the national map, and the (unbracketed) local authorities shown next to the London map.
The figures for cuts show the reduction in local authorities’ estimated ‘revenue spending power’ between fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12, and come from the Guardian’s Data Blog. The figures for constituencies’ unemployment and Job Seekers’ Allowance claimants come from the Office for National Statistics. I found many of these sources through fullfact.org.
Cross posted from New Internationalist.